The Family and Descendants of Sir Thomas More - The Center for ...

Grandparents:
The Family and Descendants of Sir Thomas More
William More and Johanna Joye:
William was a Citizen and Baker of London. He died in 1469. Johanna (d.1470) was the daughter of John Joye, a
Citizen and Brewer of London and his wife Johanna, daughter of John Leycester, a Chancery Clerk.
Due to the seizure of family documents by Henry VIII following Thomas More‟s execution his ancestry cannot
be traced back further than this. He referred to himself as “a Londoner born, of no noble family, but of
honest stock”.
[Note: It has sometimes been claimed that Sir John More, Thomas More‟s father, said that his ancestors came from
Ireland. However, what he actually said was that his ancestors “either came out of the Mores of Ireland, or they came out
of us”. No records of any Irish links have been discovered.]
Parents:
Sir John More (c.1451-1530) and Agnes Graunger (d.1499):
John and Agnes were married in the church of St Giles without Cripplegate, London, on 24 th April 1474. Agnes
was the daughter of Thomas Graunger, an Alderman of London and a Merchant of the Staple of Calais.
Agnes was John More‟s first wife, and the mother of all his children. Agnes died in 1499 and was buried in the
Church of St. Michael Bassishaw, London. After her death John More married again three times. His second
wife was Joan Marshall (the widow of John Marshall) who died in 1505. His third wife was Joan Bowes (the
widow of Thomas Bowes) who died in 1520. His fourth and last wife was Alice Clerk, the widow of John Clerk,
but by birth the daughter of John More of Loseley, Surrey.
John and Agnes More had six children:
1. Joan (1475-1542): Married Richard Staverton, a Scrivener or copier of legal documents, and later an
Attorney or junior lawyer. Had issue.
2. Thomas (1478-1535) – about whom see below.
3. Agatha (b.1479): Died young.
4. John (1479/80-1512): Unmarried. A scribe, and for some time, his older brother‟s secretary.
5. Edward (b.1480): Died young.
6. Elizabeth (b.1482): Married John Rastell (1475-1536), son of Thomas Rastell of Coventry.
John More was a Judge in the Court of the King‟s Bench. He was knighted by Henry VIII in 1518. Sir John died
in November 1530 and was buried in the Church of St. Lawrence Jewry. His widow, Lady Alice More, died at
Northaw, near North Mymms, Hertfordshire in 1545.
Sir Thomas More and His Family:
Born in Milk Street, Cheapside, London, on 7 th February 1478. Married Joanna/Joan Colt (b.1488), in January
1505. Joanna was the daughter of John Colt of Netherhall, Roydon, Essex, and his wife Elizabeth Elrington.
Joanna was the mother of all Thomas More‟s children. She died in 1511 and was buried in the Church of St.
Stephen Walbrook. Her body was later transferred to Chelsea Old Church after the More family chapel had
been built onto it.
After Joanna‟s death Thomas married Alice Middleton, the widow of John Middleton, a Citizen of London and a
Merchant of the Staple of Calais, but by birth the daughter of Sir Richard Harpur and his wife Elizabeth
Ardern. Alice died in 1551.
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Thomas More was knighted by Henry VIII in May 1521 and appointed Lord Chancellor in October 1529. He was
executed on 6 th July 1535 and buried in the Chapel of St. Peter in Chains in the Tower of London.
He was Beatified by Pope Leo III on 29 December 1886, and Canonised by Pius XI on 19 th May 1935. His Feast
day is celebrated in the Catholic Church on 22 nd June. Already the Patron Saint of Lawyers, he was declared
Patron Saint of Statesmen and Politicians by Pope Paul II on 31 October 2000.
Thomas More and Joanna Colt had four children:
1. Margaret More (1505-1544): Married William Roper on 2 July 1521. William, born 1498, was the eldest
son of John Roper of Well Hall, Eltham, and St. Dunstan‟s, Canterbury and his wife Jane, daughter of Sir
John Fineux of Faversham and Herne in Kent. Margaret died on 25 th December 1544 and William on 4 th
January 1578.
Margaret and William had five children:
1. Elizabeth (1523-1560): Married (1) John Stephenson (no issue). Married (2) Sir Edward Bray of Shere.
His second wife. One Child: Reginald.
2. Margaret (c.1526-1578): Married William Dawtrey Esq. (d.1591). Children: William, John, Anthony and
Jane.
3. Mary (b.betw.1527&1532; d.1572): Married (1) Stephen Clark (d.1554). No issue.
Married (2) James Bassett (1526-1558), third son of Sir John Bassett of Umberleigh, Devon and his wife
Honor Grenville. Mary and James had only two children:
i. Philip; ii. Charles (b.1558/9-1584). Charles became a Jesuit.
4. Thomas (1533-1598): Married Lucy Browne (d.1607), daughter of Sir Anthony Browne of Battle Abbey
and Cowdray Park. Thomas and Lucy had twelve children: William, Henry, Francis, Charles, Thomas,
Philip, Mary, Frances, Elizabeth Martha, Catherine (married Edward Bently), Mabel.
William, eldest son and heir, 1555-1628, became Sir William Roper. He married Katherine Browne,
Daughter of Sir Anthony Browne of Ridley Hall, Essex. Katherine died 1616. They had three children:
1. Anthony (1583-1643): Married (1) Mary Gerard in 1612. Mary was the daughter of William Gerard of
Trent, Somerset. Mary died in 1622. They had one daughter, Mary. Married (2) Dorothy Holte,
daughter of Sir Thomas Holte of Ashton, Warwickshire. No issue.
Married (3) a daughter of Sir Henry Compton of Brambletye House, Sussex. They had two children:
i. Anne, born 1640; died unmarried.
ii. Edward, born 1641: Married (1666) Katherine Butler, daughter of James Butler Esq., of Amberley
Castle, Sussex. Edward and Katherine had five children: Katherine, Margaret and Leonard all died
young. Edward, born 1672. Died unmarried on 25 April 1707 from wounds received during the
Battle of Almansa. He was the last male descendant of this Roper line. His sister, Elizabeth,
inherited the family estates at Eltham and Canterbury, taking them into her marriage with Edward
Henshaw of Canterbury. Edward and Elizabeth‟s daughter, Susanna, married (1729) Sir Rowland
Winn, 4 th Baronet of Nostell, who began the building of Nostell Priory, near Wakefield. Although
the mansion is now owned by the National Trust, their descendants still live there.
2. Thomas (1585-1647): Married (1621) Susan Winchcombe, daughter of John Winchcombe of Henwick
Manor, Berkshire, and his wife Mary Verrey. Thomas and Susan had seven children: William, Mary,
Francis,Thomas, Margaret, George and Frances.
3. Anne (1587-1648): Married Sir Philip Constable of Everingham (1595-1664). Their children include:
Barbara, Philip and Thomas (became Benedictines), Catherine (married Edward Sheldon of Steeple
Barton), Elizabeth (married William Langdale).
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The eldest son and heir was Sir Marmaduke Constable (b.1619). He married Anne Sherburn. The
family name later became Haggerston-Constable and then Constable-Maxwell.
5. Anthony (1544-1597): Married Anne Cotton, daughter of Sir John Cotton of Landwade and his wife
Isabel Spencer. Anthony and Anne had five children:
i. Anthony: Became Sir Anthony Roper;
ii. John; iii. Henry; iv. Isabel (d.1622) married Sir Thomas Wiseman of Rivenhall, Essex; v. Jane.
2. Elizabeth More (1506-1564): Married William Daunce, on 29 th September 1525. William, born c.1505, was
the son of Sir John Daunce and his first wife, Alice, daughter of Thomas Latton of Berkshire.
Elizabeth and William Daunce had seven children: John, eldest son and heir (b.1526), Thomas, Bartholomew,
William, Germain, Alice and Elizabeth.
3. Cecily More (1507-?): Married Giles Heron on 29 th September 1525. Giles was the son of Sir John Heron
of Hackney, Middlesex, and his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Griffith Rees of Wales. On his father‟s
death in 1523 Giles became a Ward of Sir Thomas More.
Cecily and Giles heron had three children:
i. Thomas: Married Cecily Jekyl. No issue.
ii. John.
iii. Anne: Eventual heir. Married (1) ….Horsley; (2) ……Osborne (first names not recorded).
Giles was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on a trumped-up charge of treason on 4 th August 1540.
4. John More II (1509-1547): Only son and heir. See below
The Family of John More II:
John was born at the „Old Barge‟ in Bucklersbury, London, in 1509. He married Anne Cresacre in December
1529. Anne was the only child of Edward Cresacre of Barnborough, Yorkshire, and his wife Jane, daughter of
Sir Richard Basset of Fledborough, Nottinghamshire. Anne was born at Barnborough between 2 nd December
1511 and 21st April 1512. When her father died in 1512, age twenty-seven, Anne, his sole heiress, became a
Ward of the Crown, a wardship which was eventually bought by Sir Thomas More c.1523.
John More and Anne had eight children:
1. Thomas More II (1531-1606): Eldest son and heir. See below.
2. Augustine More: Born at Chelsea on Tuesday 5 th August 1533. Recorded as having died while young.
3. Edward More: Born at Chelsea on Saturday 13 th August 1535. Edward may have married, and had a
daughter Anne. However, there is no record of his marriage or the baptism of any children in the parish
register of Barnborough, Yorkshire, where he lived most of his adult life. Edward conformed to the Church
of England in later life. He was buried at St. Peter‟s Church, Barnborough on 2 nd May 1620.
4. Gerome More: Named as fourth son in the family‟s „Book of Hours‟ where only his death (with no date) is
recorded. Probably born stillborn or died soon after his birth in 1537.
5. Thomas More III: Born on Tuesday 2 nd July 1538. Usually known as Thomas More the younger. Became a
Minister (Priest) in the Church of England, but no record of his ordination or place of ministry survives. It
is known from his older brother‟s will (1606) that he married and had three children: Cyprian, Thomas and
Constantine, and that he died before 1606. However, family researchers have never discovered the name of
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his wife, the birth years of his children or any other details of the family. His uncle, Cresacre More, writing
c.1616-1620 said that he was very poor and that he had brought his children up in no commendable
profession. Cresacre also said that, at that time, the only son still living was the eldest (Cyprian).
[Note: A Pedigree of the family published in 1873 says that Thomas‟ descendants went to Norfolk and then to America
The source of this information is not recorded, and no documentary evidence as to which descendant/s was/were
involved, or when, or where, he/she/they went to America has so far been produced. Some internet sites claim that
Thomas married a Martha Brooks, born c.1540, and that they had a son, Thomas William Moore. Martha Brooks is said to
have been the daughter of Sir Robert Brooke and his third wife Dorothy Gatacre. This however does not accord with the
documented history of the Brooke family concerned which shows that Martha Brooke (not Brooks), the eldest daughter
of Sir Robert and Dorothy, was baptized at Claverley, Shropshire on 9 th September 1545, and that she married a
Christopher Digon.]
6. Bartholomew More: Born on Tuesday 10 th February 1530. Said to have conformed to the Church of
England, to have been unmarried, and to have died young of the plague.
7. Anne More: Born on Tuesday 12 th April 1541. Married John West, son of George West of Aughton and
Aston, Yorkshire, at St. Peter‟s, Barnborough, on 6 th September 1559.
Anne and John West had four children:
i. Jane: Baptised at St. Peters, Barnborough in August 1560.
ii. Anne: Baptised at St. Peter‟s, Barnborough on 28 th August 1561.
iii. Barbara:
iv. Godfrey: Married Catherine Revel at Hansworth on 25 May 1579. Catherine was the daughter of Thomas
Revel of Stannington.
8. Francis More: Born 29 th December 1546. Recorded as having died when still a child.
John More died in 1547, and Anne devoted herself to brining up her young children at Barnborough. On 13 June
1559 she married George West of Aughton and Aston, near Rotherham, Yorkshire. George was the son of John
West of Aughton, and Anne, daughter of Ralph Eyre of Offerton-in-the-Peak, Derbyshire. Anne was George‟s
second husband. His first wife (by whom he had two children, John and Elizabeth) was Jayne Trygot of Kirkby,
Yorkshire. After their marriage George and Anne lived at Barnburgh Hall. They did not have any children.
George West was buried at St. Peter‟s Church, Barnborough on 12 th June 1572. Anne was buried in the church
on 2 December 1577.
Thomas More II and His Family:
Thomas More II was born at Chelsea on Tuesday 8 th August 1531. Married Mary Scrope in 1553. Mary, born in
1534, was the third daughter of John Scrope of Spennithorne, Yorkshire, and Hambleden Buckinghamshire,
and his wife Phyllis, daughter of Ralph Rokeby of Mortham, Yorkshire. Thomas and Mary lived for a while at
Hambleden, and then moved to Barnborough Hall, the ancestral home inherited by his mother. The family
moved to Low Leyton, Essex, in March 1582. Thomas was committed to the Marshalsea Prison from April 1582
until July 1586 for refusing to conform to the Church of England.
Thomas and Mary had thirteen children:
1. Mary: Born at Hambleden on 25 th December 1553. Married Edward More of Haddon, in the parish of
Bampton, Oxfordshire. Edward (date of birth not recorded) was the son of Thomas More of Lower Haddon,
Oxfordshire, and of Beswick, Yorkshire. After their marriage Mary and Edward lived on the estate belonging
to Mary‟s father, at Low Leyton, Essex. Here they were regularly convicted of recusancy until Edward‟s
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death in 1605. Mary (then living with a married daughter at Stondon Massey, Essex) died in 1630.
Mary and Edward More had seven children:
i. Isabel: Living, unmarried, in 1648.
ii. Joan: Became a Nun at an English Benedictine Convent in Brussels.
iii. Henry: Born 1586. Became a Jesuit Priest. Worked on the English Mission and imprisoned from 1628-
1631. Became Provincial of the English Jesuits and the Historian of the English Mission. Died at Watten
(France) on 8 th December 1661.
iv. Thomas: Born 1587. Became a Jesuit Priest. Died at Ghent on 2 nd January 1623.
v. Grace: Born 1591. Became „Dame Agnes More‟, a Benedictine Nun at the Monastery of Our Lady of
Consolation, Cambrai, Flanders. Died 4 th March 1655.
vi. Anne: Born 1600. Became „Dame Anne More‟, a Benedictine Nun at the Monastery of Our Lady of
Consolation, Cambrai, Flanders. Died 9 th November 1662.
vii. Frances: Married Henry Lusher, a London Apothecary. They had six children: Thomas (alive in 1692)
Mary (1624-1687), a Benedictine Nun; Edward (born 1625), became a Catholic Priest; Anne; Elizabeth;
Bridget (1633-1690), a Benedictine Nun.
[Note: Some internet genealogy sites claim that Mary and Edward More/Moore had a son, John, born 1584, who married an
Elizabeth Merritt and emigrated to Virginia in the 1620‟s. Conflicting claims are made about this John‟s birthplace in
England, and some say he was born in Ireland. No documentary evidence has been produced to substantiate any of these
claims, and they do not accord with the known facts about the children of this family. When Thomas More (iv. above)
entered the English College, Rome, on 15 October 1601 he made a sworn statement to the effect that he had one brother
(see iii. above) and five sisters.]
2. Anne: Born at Hambleden on 10 th April 1555. Unmarried. Died c.1630.
3. Margaret: Born at Barnborough Yorkshire in 1556. Married John Garford of Heck by Snaith, Yorkshire.
Lived at Whitley, Yorkshire. Had one daughter, Anne.
4. John III: Baptised at St. Peter‟s, Barnborough on 6 th September 1557. As an adult lived on his father‟s
estate at Low Leyton, Essex. Died unmarried c.1599-60.
5. Jane/Joan: Baptised at Barnborough on 9 th August 1562. Married Lawerence Povey (1556-1614), son of
John Povey of Newgate, London. Lived at Low Leyton and at North Mymms, Hertfordshire.
Jane and Lawrence had five children: Lawrence, John, Mary, Grace, and Prudence.
6. Magdalen: Baptised at Barnborough on 25 th July 1563. Buried at Barnborough 7 th January 1567.
7. Katherine: Baptised at Barnborough 10 th December 1564. Married (c.1589) Christopher Byrd, son of
William Byrd the Elizabethan musician and composer and his wife Juliana Burley. Christopher was baptized
at St. Margaret‟s-in-the-Close, Lincoln, on 18 th November 1569. His father was the Cathedral choirmaster
and organist at the time. Katherine and Christopher lived at Stondon Massey, Essex. Christopher died
c.1615. Katherine died c.1640. They had one son, Thomas, who died, unmarried, some time after 1651.
8. Thomas More IV: Baptised at Barnborough on 13th January 1565. Became a Secular Priest. Was
representative of English Clergy at Rome. He died at Rome on 11 April 1625 and was buried in the Church
of San Luigi dei Francesi (the French Church).
9. Henry: Baptised at Barnborough 15 th March 1567. Joined the Order of St. Francis of Paula (Minims) at
Nigeon, near Paris. Died there during Whitsuntide, 1597.
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10. Grace: Baptised at Barnborough on 16 th September 1568. Married Thomas Greenwood, Gent., of Brize
Norton, Oxfordshire. Thomas was the son of Thomas Greenwood and his wife Joan, daughter of Edward
Napper of Holwell/Holywell, Oxfordshire. Joan was the sister of George Napper the English Martyr.
Grace and Thomas had three children: Thomas „the younger‟, born 1604, Cleve, & Bridget, who married
William Whitbread of White Notley, Essex. No issue recorded.
11. Unnamed child. No baptismal record. Probably stillborn.
12. Unnamed child. No baptismal record. Probably stillborn.
13. Cresacre More (1572-1649): Youngest son and eventual heir. See below.
Thomas More II died at Leyton on 19 th August 1606. Where he is buried is not known. Mary died on 12 th
January 1607. Where she is buried is also not known.
Cresacre More and his Family:
Cresacre was born at Barnborough Hall on 3 July 1572 and baptized in St. Peter‟s Church on 6 th July 1572.
Studied for the priesthood at Rheims, but ceased before he was ordained in order to return to England and
carry on the family name. Married Elizabeth Gage (marriage agreement dated 30 th June 1603). Elizabeth,
born 24 th August 1585, was the daughter of Thomas Gage and his wife Elizabeth Guldeford. After their
marriage Cresacre and Elizabeth lived at Low Leyton, Essex.
Cresacre and Elizabeth had three children:
1. Helen: Born 1606. Became a Benedictine Nun at the Monastery of Our Lady of Consolation at Cambrai,
Flanders. Known in religion as Dame Gertrude More. Died at Cambrai on 17 th August 1633.
2. Thomas More V (1607-1660): Only son and heir. See Below.
3. Bridget: Born 1609. Became a Benedictine Nun at the Monastery of Our Lady of Consolation, Cambrai.
Known in religion as Dame BridgetMore. Elected Prioress at the new foundation of the Order at Paris –
Monastery of Our Lady of Good Hope. Died there on 12 th October 1692.
Elizabeth More died 15 th July 1610. Cresacre may have spent some time at Gobions, the More family mansion
at North Mymms, Hertfordshire, before moving, later in life, to live on his farm at Chilston, near Madley, in
Herefordshire. He was buried at the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Madley, on 26 March 1649. No trace
of his grave remains.
The Family of Thomas More V:
Thomas More V was born at Leyton in 1607. Married Mary Brooke in June 1629. Mary was the daughter of
Sir Basil Brooke of Madeley Court, Madeley, Shropshire and his wife Etheldreda Brudenell.
Thomas and Mary had nine children:
1. Frances: Born 1630/31. Married George Sheldon of Canterbury (1638-1679), third son of William Sheldon
of Beoley, Worcestershire, and his wife Elizabeth Petre. Frances was his first wife, and they had no issue.
Frances died 12 th May 1666.
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2. William: Born 1632/33. As a teenager appears to have lived with his uncle Cresacre at Chilston, a
property he eventually inherited. William died, unmarried, on 11 th June 1664, and was buried at Madley.
3. Thomas More VI: Born at Chilston, near Madley, in Herefordshire. Baptism entered in register of the
Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin on 21 st April 1635. Date of death not known.
[Note: It is claimed that Thomas married Mary Ap.Adam, daughter of John ApAdam of Flint and that they had a son,
George Moore, b.1666, George is said to have emigrated to Ireland where he settled at Ballina and married Catherine,
daughter of Robert Maxwell of Castle Feeling, Scotland. This line eventually gave rise to the Moores of Moore Hall in
County Mayo, Ireland.]
4. Cresacre More II: Born 1636. Studied at Douai under the alias of Thomas Brooke. Left Douai for Paris
on 7 th September 1651 and never heard of again. Said to have been murdered by his „conductor‟.
5. Mary: Born 1638. Became a Nun in the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Committed to York Prison in
1678 for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy. Released in 1685. Died at one of the
Institute‟s houses in Bavaria. Date not known.
6. Basil (1639/40-1702): Eventual heir. See below.
7. Margaret: Born between 1641 and 1647. Became a Nun in the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Committed with her older sister to York Prison in 1678. Died there and buried at St. Mary‟s, Castlegate on
10 th September 1679.
8. John More IV: Born between 1641 and 1647. Married, but name of his wife is not known. Died 27 April
1697. Said to have had a son, John, whose date of birth is not recorded, but who died on 17 th February
1702. There may also have been a son, Thomas, born 1650, who was at the English College, Rome, in 1670
when he described himself as “son of John”.
[Note: An addition to Foster‟s Pedigree of the More family published in 1874 records a tradition that one of these
Johns had a son, Edward Moore, who became a Church of England Minister and, eventually, Vicar of Over in Cheshire.
Rev. Edward Moore married Mary…. (second name not recorded) and they had ten children whose descendants
distinguished themselves, among other professions, in the Anglican Church and in the Indian Army. Col. C.J.T. Moore
of Frampton Hall, Lincolnshire, an early descendant of this line and a well-known antiquarian and family researcher, left
a note on his copy of the family pedigree which stated that he had serious doubts about the claim. Apart from this
pedigree, there is no other documentary evidence to link Rev. Edward Moore with the main „More‟ line.]
9. Bridget: Born 1648. Married Thomas Gifford (Marriage Allegation dated 3 rd February 1669). Thomas is
said to have been the second son of Sir …… Gifford (first name not recorded). Bridget died 1673. No issue
recorded.
Thomas More V died at Goodman‟s Fields, Whitechapel on 12 th January 1660. Where he is buried is not
known. Mary, then living in London, was buried at St. Mary‟s Church, North Mymms, Hertfordshire on 18 th
June 1683.
Basil More and His Family:
Basil More was born 1639/40. He married Anne Humble at the Church of St. Peter, Paul‟s Wharf, London, on
25 th February 1659. Anne was baptized on 17 th March 1641 at the Church of St. Mary Woolnoth, Lombard
Street, London. She was the daughter of Sir William Humble, Baronet, of Stratford Langthorne, Essex, and
his wife Elizabeth Allanson.
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Basil and Anne had eighteen children born alive, and six more who are believed to have been
stillborn:
1. Mary: Baptised at St. Mary, Woolnoth on 9 th December 1661. Married James Morgan, Gent., of the Parish
of St. Giles in the Fields, London, between 25 th September 1699 and 25 th December 1670. They lived in
Southampton Street, Bloomsbury, London. Mary died on 18 th August 1721. James died 19 th February 1722
and was buried in the churchyard of Old St. Pancras Church on 22 nd February 1722. They had no issue.
2. Frances: Born on 21 st March 1663. She married Edward Goate, Gent., of the Middle Temple, London, at
St. James. Duke‟s Place, London on 22 nd April 1689. Edward later moved to Staple Inn, an Inn of Chancery
in High Holborn, London. Edward was known as „the younger‟. He was the eldest son of Edward Goate „the
elder‟, Gent., of Bottesdale, in the Parish of Redgrave, Suffolk. Frances died in 1712, but Edward‟s date of
death is not recorded.
Frances and Edward had three children: Edward, Charles and Susan. Edward Goate, Gent., the elder son
and heir, married Frances, daughter of Anthony Wroth, Esq., of Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Edward died
on 12 th September 1720. At the time Frances was pregnant with their first child. The date of Frances‟
death is not known.
3. Basil: Born 1 st May 1665 and known as „Basil Jnr.‟ Studied at Lincoln‟s Inn and appointed one of the Deputy
Lieutenants of Hertfordshire. Later obtained a commission as a Captain in the Army of King James II.
Went into exile with James II. Died, unmarried at Louvain on 1 st June 1689.
4. Christopher Cresacre (1666-1719): Eventual heir. See below:
5. Bridgitt: Born at Gobions and Baptised at St. Mary‟ Church, North Mymms on 25 th May 1669. Married
John Forcer of Harbour House and Kelloe in the County Palatinate of Durham. Bridgitt was his second wife.
Bridgitt and John had eleven children whose births are recorded in the register of St. Nicholas and St.
Oswald in Durham. Of their five daughters – Jane (b.1688), Bridget Frances (1699), Anne (b.1700),
Catherine (b.1703) & Barbara (b.1707), only Barbara survived into adulthood. She died, unmarried, and was
buried in 1776 at St. Margaret‟s Church, Crossgate, Durham. Of the six sons, John (b.1695), Henry
(b.1704), Peter (b.1705), and James did not survive into adulthood. Thomas (b.1715) died unmarried in
1738. Basil (b. 17 th May 1702) married Anne, daughter of John Tempest of Old Durham. Anne predeceased
Basil, who died in London in 1774. No issue.
6. William: Born at Gobions on 22 nd October, and baptized at St. Mary‟s, North Mymms on 28 th November
1670. Became a Lawyer of Barnard‟s Inn, an Inn of Chancery in Holborn, London. Died, unmarried, at
Sprotborough, Yorkshire, in early October 1710.
7. Thomas VII: Born at Gobions and birth entered in register of Mary‟s, North Mymms on 17 th December
1671. Entered Lincoln‟s Inn on 17 th December 1695, but no record of him practicing as a lawyer. Married
and may have lived at or near Barnborough, Yorkshire, where the baptism of a number of children are
recorded in the Parish Register as born to Thomas More and his wife Sarah: Mary (bpt.1689), Gervas
(bpt.1691) and John (bpt.1694). Wood family documents show that another daughter, Irene (not recorded
in the register), married Alexander Nicholson of Barkston Hall, Yorkshire, in 1732. The author of this
pedigree is descended from this line
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8. Anne: Born at Gobions, and birth entered in the Register of St. Mary‟s Church on 5 th December 1662
Became a Nun with the Canonesses Regular of the Lateran, at St. Monica‟s, Louvain. Took the name Sister
Theodora. Died on 6 th June 1699.
9. John V: Born 30 th December 1673. Became a Lawyer in one of the Inns of Chancery. Alive in 1698, but
date of death not recorded. Unmarried.
10. George: Born at Gobions, and baptism entered in the Register of St. Mary‟s Church on 5 th February
1674. Died, unmarried on 17 th June 1697.
11. Augustine: Named „Austin‟ in family documents. Born on 11 th August 1676. A Woollen Draper. Lived in
Whitechapel, London. Family documents indicate he had a son and a daughter whose names are not
recorded. Died 15 th August 1719.
[Note: The claim that Col. Augustine Moore of „Chelsea‟, Virginia (1685-1743) was this Augustine, or, alternatively,
that he was “the son of a sister of Basil , the son of Thomas More who married the daughter of Sir Basil Brooke”
(i.e. Austin More‟s father) does not accord with the known facts. The latter claim was shown by genealogists in the
U.S. in the early 1900s to have been based on forged documents. The creation of fictional pedigrees, linking back to
families of note in England was, it is said, not uncommon in early colonial Virginia.]
12. Charles I: Born at Gobions, and baptism entered in the Register of St. Mary‟s Church on 3 rd October
1678. Recorded as having died when he was about three years old.
13. Michael Bartholomew: Born and died at Barnborough in 1680. Burial recorded in Register of St. Peter‟s
Church on 5 th September.
14. Charles II: Born at Gobions and birth entered in the Parish Register on 15 th November 1683. Recorded
as having become a „drugster‟, the name at the time for a chemist. Died, unmarried on 1 st February 1716.
15. Thomas: Born 1686. Died an infant.
16. Catherine: Born at Gobions and entered in the Register of St. Mary‟s Church on 12 th March 1691. Died
soon after birth.
17. William: Died soon after birth.
18. Elizabeth: Died soon after birth.
In addition to the above, there were six more children who were stillborn.
Anne More was buried at St. Peter‟s Church, Barnborough on 2 nd April 1694. Basil died, intestate, on 17 th
November and was buried at St. Peter‟s Barnborough on 20 th November 1702.
[Note: Catholics were for many years required to enter the birth of their children in the register of their local Church of
England Parish Register. It seems to have been up to the Minister‟s discretion whether he entered just their birth or their
baptism. It was not forbidden for Catholics to have their children baptized in the Parish Church but, usually, where
possible, they were baptized by Catholic missionary priests.]
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The Family of Christopher Cresacre More:
Christopher Cresacre More was born at Gobions and his baptism entered in the Parish Register of St. Mary‟s,
North Mymms, on 7 th April 1666. He married Katherine Wharton, most probably in 1688. Katherine was the
daughter of Humphrey Wharton of Westminster. Christopher Cresacre and Katherine lived, briefly, at
Gobions, and then in London. His father sold Gobions in 1693 to pay of his debts. After his father‟s death
(1702) he and Katherine took up permanent residence at Barnborough Hall.
Christopher Cresacre and Katherine had four children:
1. Anne: Birth entered in the Register of St. Mary‟s, North Mymms, on 9 th June 1689. Anne married William
Binks, Gent., of Richmond and of Easingwold, North Yorkshire.
Anne and William had two children:
i. William: Killed in the Indies.
ii. Mary: Born 1726. Married John Ullathorne on 17 th December 1749. John, not a Catholic, was born and
baptized at Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, on 28 th March 1725. John became a Draper at Easingwold
North Yorkshire. John and Mary had seven children born between 1751 and 1771, all of whom were
brought up as Catholics. Their second son, John (1752-1832), was the grandfather of William Bernard
Ullathorne (1806-1889) who became a Benedictine Monk and was appointed first Bishop of Birmingham
in 1850 and later granted the honorary title of Archbishop of Cabasa. Lucy Ullathorne, the
Archbishop‟s sister married (1844) her cousin John Charles Longstaff. Their great-grandson, John
Leonard Longstaff (1913-1986), became a priest and eventually a Canon of the Diocese of
Westminster.
2. Catherine: Born at Gobions, and baptism entered in the Register of St. Mary‟s Church, North Mymms, on
12 th March 1691. Died at Brussels in 1722.
3. Thomas VIII (1691-1739): Son and heir. See below.
4. Mary: Born at Barnborough Hall and baptism entered in the Register of St. Peter‟s Church on 8 th
September 1703. Married (1733) Charles Waterton of Walton Hall, Yorkshire. Born 20 th March 1704,
Charles was the eldest son and heir of Charles Waterton, Esq., of Walton, and his first wife, Anne, the
daughter of Sir William Gerard of Bryn, Cheshire.
Mary and Charles Waterton had four sons - Thomas, Charles, Christopher and Bertram – and three
daughters – Mary, Anne, and Catherine. Thomas, the eldest son and heir, married Anne Bedingfield and
were the parents of Charles Waterton of Walton Hall, the famous adventurer and naturalist, and friend
of Charles Darwin.
Christopher Cresacre More died at Barnborough and was buried at St. Peter‟s Church on 25 April 1729.
After his death Katherine went to live with her married daughter at Walton Hall where she died. Her body
was taken to Barnborough and buried at St. Peter‟s Church on 16 th October 1744.
Thomas More VIII and his Family:
Born at Gobions, and his birth entered in the Register of St. Mary‟s Church, North Mymms on 28 th February
1691. Studied at Lincoln‟s Inn and practiced as a Lawyer.
Married Catherine Giffard in 1718. Catherine was the eldest daughter of John Giffard of Black Ladies at
Brewood, Staffordshire, and his wife Catherine, daughter of John Taylor of Fockbury, Worcestershire.
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After their marriage Thomas and Catherine went to live for a while in Ghent, but then returned to take up
residence at Barnborough Hall. Later, they moved to live in the Parish of Holy Trinity, King‟s Court, York.
Thomas died in 1739 and was buried at York on 28 th August. Catherine died at York at the end of November
and was buried on 4 th December 1767.
Thomas and Catherine had six children:
1. Thomas More IX: Born 19 th September 1722. Joined the Jesuits, ordained priest, and worked on the
English Mission. Became Provincial of the Jesuits until their suppression in 1773. Retired in 1793 and went
to live with his married sister in Bath. Died there on 20 th May 1795 and buried in St. Joseph‟s Catholic
Chapel, Trenchard Street.
2. Christopher: Born 17 th May 1729, probably in York. Joined the Jesuits and ordained priest. Became
Chaplain to his sister Bridget and her second husband Robert Dalton at Thurnham Hall, at York, and then
at Bath. Died at Bath on 27 th November 1781 and buried at Bath Abbey.
3. Basil: Born at Barnborough Hall in 1780. Died an infant. Burial recorded in the Register of St. Peter‟s
Church on 11 th January 1731.
4. Mary: Born at York on 1 st April 1732. Known in the family as „Mally‟. Joined the Augustinian Canonesses
Regular of the Lateran at Bruges, becoming „Dame Mary Augustina.‟ Elected Prioress.
The community fled to England (to Hengrave Hall, Suffolk) in 1794 when they were expelled from France
at the beginning of the French Revolution. The Nuns returned to Bruges in 1802. Dame Mary died there
on 23 March 1807, and was buried in the Convent Chapel.
5. Catherine: Born at York in 1733. Lived with her mother in York where she died, unmarried, in 1784.
6. Bridget: Born at Ghent, but date not recorded. Known in the family as „Biddy‟. Bridget married twice:
Her first husband was Peter Metcalfe of Glandford Briggs (now known as Brigg), Lincolnshire. Peter was
the son of Nicholas Metcalfe and his wife Anne, daughter of Marmaduke Morley.
Bridget and Peter Metcalfe lived in Brigg, and had three children:
1. Thomas Peter: Born 4 th July 1756. Married Teresa Throckmorton on 28 th August 1789. Teresa, born
In August 1759 was the daughter of George Throckmorton of Weston Underwood and his wife Anna
Maria Paston.
Thomas Peter and Teresa Metcalfe lived at Bath, and had three children:
i. Maria Teresa: Baptised at the Catholic Chapel, Bath, on 6 th February 1791. Married Charles Eyston,
(born 17 th May 1790), of Hendred House, East Hendred, at St. Mary‟s Catholic Chapel, Queen‟s
Square, Bath, on 13 th October 1814. They had eight children born between 1815 and 1828. Maria
Teresa died at Leamington Spa., Warwickshire on 19 th March 1848. Charles died in London on 24 th
February 1857. Both were buried at Kemmerton, Gloucestershire.
[Note (1): Mary Anne Eyston (daughter of Maria Teresa and Charles Eyston), born 9 th January 1819, married
Richard Thomas Gillow at the Catholic Chapel, East Hendred, on 20 th May 1845. Richard Thomas Gillow, born
21 st December 1806, was the son of Richard Gillow of Leighton Hall and his wife Elizabeth Stapleton. The Gillow
family of Lancashire achieved fame as furniture makers. Mary Anne died on 25 th April 1890. Richard Thomas
died on 14 th October 1905. Descendants of the Gillow family still live at Leighton Hall.]
[Note (2): Charles Eyston was succeeded by his son Charles John Eyston, born at Bath in 1817. He married
Agnes Mary Blount. This line has continued at Hendred House down to the present day.]
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ii. Mary Anne: Baptised at Bath on 7 th October 1792. Died an infant. Burial recorded in the Chapel
Register on 16 th January 1793.
iii. Thomas Peter: Baptised at Bath 25 th April 1794. On 24 th June 1797 he officially adopted the name
„More‟ by Royal Sign Manual. He died, unmarried, at Birmingham on 28 th July 1838 and was buried in
the parish church of Coughton, Warwickshire, on 4 th August 1838.
[Note: Thomas Peter had two illegitimate children, Matilda & Mary Anne, by an Anne Richardson of
Highgate, London.]
Thomas Peter Metcalfe (Snr.) died on 21 st October 1793. Teresa died at the home of her daughter in
East Hendred on 24 th September 1824.
2. Catherine: Born 1757. Died 1761.
3. Bridget Mary: Born 5 th February 1758. Died an infant on 17 th March 1758.
Peter Metcalfe, Bridget More‟s first husband, died in August 1757.
Bridget‟s second husband was Robert Dalton, Esq., of Thurnham Hall, Lancashire. As required by law at
the time, they had to be married at a Church of England Church, and that was the Parish Church of St.
Mary, Wrawby, near Brigg. They married on 30 th October 1759. Bridget was Robert Dalton‟s third wife.
Bridget and Robert Dalton had three children:
1. Constance: Died unmarried.
2. William: Birth on 10 th September 1763 entered in Register of St. Michael‟s Church, Cockerham.
Married Louisa, daughter of Frederick Smith Esq., of the Parish of St. Mary-le-Bone, London. Had
issue.
3. Bridget Anne: Married Sir James Trant Fitzgerald, 7 th Baronet of Castle Ishen,, Co. Cork, Ireland, in
1789. They lived in Bath and had issue, a daughter, Maria, and a son, James, who, on the death of his
father became the 8 th Baronet. Issue: Three sons and three daughters.
Robert Dalton died in 1785. Bridget died at Bath on 7 th May 1797.
Bridget‟s death effectively brought to an end the principal line of direct descendants of Sir/Saint Thomas
More. She was survived only by her sister, Dame Augustina More, O.S.A., who died in 1807.
© Martin Wood
18 th November 2008.
[Documentary evidence for the details given in the Pedigree may be found in my book
“The Family and Descendants of St Thomas More”. Published in the UK by „Gracewing‟.
April 2008. ISBN 978 0 85244 681 2.]
Published on the CTMS Website with the permission of the author.
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